Prior Heath Infant School

Prior Heath Infant School is a small, warm and inclusive infant school where pupils feel part of a family-like community. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school is meeting expected standards in attendance and behaviour, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils enjoy school, attendance is above national figures, persistent absence is low, behaviour is positive and relationships are respectful. Early reading and phonics are notable strengths, and pastoral support is a particular highlight. The school has 180 pupils, below the national average, and very low free school meal eligibility. Achievement and curriculum and teaching are judged as needing attention. Not all pupils, including some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, consistently produce high-quality work or build effectively on prior learning, so not all are fully prepared for the next stage. The curriculum is broad and clearly sequenced, and leaders have identified the right priorities, but delivery is not yet consistently embedded. Activities can be too open-ended, expectations are sometimes unclear, opportunities to practise basic skills are limited, scaffolding and modelling are not used well enough, and misconceptions are not always addressed quickly. Leaders are aware of these issues and are taking appropriate action through training, mentoring and curriculum development.

Strengths

• Warm, inclusive and welcoming school community where pupils feel known and supported
• Effective attendance culture with attendance above national figures and persistent absence low
• Pupils behave well, move calmly and build respectful relationships with staff
• Strong early years provision with clear routines and a well-sequenced curriculum
• Consistent and effective phonics teaching that builds confidence and fluency
• Prompt identification of special educational needs and timely, well-targeted support
• Broad personal development programme enriched by trips, clubs and leadership roles
• Pastoral support is a strength, and pupils trust adults to help
• Clear strategic leadership with relevant improvement priorities and valued professional development
• Governors fulfil statutory duties and provide appropriate challenge and support
• Effective use of pupil premium funding to improve learning and wellbeing
• Strong partnerships with parents, carers and external agencies

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement requires attention: some pupils, including some with special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not consistently produce high-quality work or build on prior learning
• Not all pupils are fully prepared for the next stage of their education
• Curriculum delivery is not yet consistently embedded across the school
• Activities are sometimes too open-ended and expectations can be unclear
• Pupils have limited opportunities to practise and secure basic skills, such as transcription
• Appropriate resources are not always available to support learning
• Scaffolding and modelling strategies are not used sufficiently well
• Expectations for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils are variable at times
• Misconceptions are not always addressed quickly enough during lessons
• Wider curriculum delivery is variable, limiting consistency of achievement in key stage 1

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Prior Heath Infant School attended 96.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.6% of pupils at Prior Heath Infant School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Prior Heath Infant School had 24.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 19.1% of pupils at Prior Heath Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Prior Heath Infant School received £6,508 and spent £6,696 for each of its 178 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £97,000 (£547 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Camberley · Surrey local authority: places and applications

What is Prior Heath Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Prior Heath Infant School is Needs attention, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Prior Heath Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Prior Heath Infant School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Prior Heath Infant School have?

Prior Heath Infant School has 178 pupils on roll.

What age range does Prior Heath Infant School cover?

Prior Heath Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Prior Heath Infant School?

Prior Heath Infant School is at Prior Road, Camberley, Surrey, GU15 1DA.